NCJ Number
196285
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 29 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2002 Pages: 22-26
Date Published
July 2002
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the growing threat of homegrown terrorists in the United States (U.S.).
Abstract
These threats endanger citizens in the path of those subscribing to extremist beliefs and ideologies and threaten the safety of law enforcement officers who cross paths with them while doing their jobs. Extremists on both the far right and far left have reacted negatively to many of the measures put into place since the September 11th terrorist incidents. Some extremists may lash out against law enforcement and the government in reaction to some of these measures. Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations actively recruit disgruntled U.S. citizens to act as potential operatives in terrorist attacks. There are three different typologies of terrorists that officers may encounter: ideologically motivated, psychologically dangerous, and those seeking revenge or personal benefit. These terrorists may be of the homegrown variety or international in scope. Politically motivated terrorists typically have an achievable goal while theologically motivated terrorists may not have a tangible goal in mind. Psychologically dangerous terrorists are either disillusional and operate under perceptions not based in reality, or sociopathic and cold and calculating. There can be a combination of these characteristics. Extremists pose a threat to law enforcement for many reasons. They are not motivated by greed or anger and may plan a criminal act in great detail. They are cause-oriented rather than self-oriented, which makes them more dangerous because they can embark on a suicide mission. The extremist criminal may be attack-oriented rather than defense-oriented, choosing fight over flight. The six types of situations that present the greatest risk to law enforcement officer are traffic stops, residence visits, rallies/marches, confrontations/standoffs, incident responses, and revenge and retaliations. There are many visual and verbal identifiers that offer insight about the person officers are dealing with, including propaganda. An officer should keep his or her distance and call for backup when something sets off his or her suspicions. Training resources are available through Federal law enforcement, universities, private monitoring groups, and others.